In this study, we employed hydroxypropyl--cyclodextrin (HP--CD) as an excipient to produce poly(lactic--glycolic acid) (PLGA) fine particles by a supercritical fluid process, called aerosol solvent extraction system (ASES), and investigated the effect of HP--CD content on the morphology of the particles. The influence of HP--CD on the drug release characteristics of paclitaxel-loaded PLGA particles was also evaluated. Fine particles were obtained when the HP--CD content in PLGA/HP--CD mixtures was greater than 40% and 30%, respectively, for PLGA(75:25) and PLGA(50:50), whereas a film-like precipitate was obtained for lower HP--CD content. The release rate for paclitaxel loaded PLGA(75:25)/HP--CD particles was found to increase with HP--CD content.

We prepared a series of aromatic liquid crystals (LCs) based on wholly aromatic ester units with the reactive end group methyl maleimide by means of melt condensation method, and the resulting LCs were thermally crosslinked to produce liquid crystalline thermoset (LCT) films. The synthesized LCs and LCTs were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and polarizing optical microscopy (POM) with a hot stage. The glass transition temperature () and coefficient of thermal expansion are strongly affected by the mesogen units in their main chain structures. The -substituted biphenyl LC was found to have the highest thermal property value.

Organic-inorganic hybrid coating film using 1,2-bis(2,4-dimethyl-5-phenyl-3-thienyl)-3,3,4,4,5,5-hexafluoro-1-cyclopentene (BTHFC) as a photochromic material was prepared under various reaction conditions such as the amounts of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), various silane coupling agents, and solvent. It was found that color-fading speed and absorbance of the coating film was strongly dependent upon the polarity of silane coupling agent and solvent. In addition, the mole ratio of TMOS and methacryloyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) was an important factor to determine color-fading speed and absorbance of the coating film. With increasing TMOS contents in coating film, the pencil hardness was increased. On the other hands, the transmittance of coating film was relatively decreased with the increase of TMOS.

Functionalized graphene/epoxy composites were prepared to miprove thermal conductivities of epoxy composites and to maintain electrical insulating property. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared using Hummers method, and then GO was reacted with aluminum isopropoxide to functionalize layer onto GO surface by a simple sol-gel method (Al-GO). GO and Al-GO were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The analyses confirm that GO was coated with a large and dense coverage of . GO and Al-GO (1 and 3 wt%) were embedded in bisphenol A (DGEBA) to investigate the effects of electrical insulating property. Electrical resistivity showed that Al-GO had better insulating property than GO. Further, the thermal conductivity of GO and Al-GO/epoxy composites was higher than that of neat epoxy resins. In particular, the thermal conductivity of Al-GO/bisphenol F (DGEBF) improved by 23.3% and Al-GO/DGEBA enhanced by 21.8% compared with pure epoxy resins.

Solution type pressure sensitive acrylic adhesives were synthesized from 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2-EHA) as a base monomer and acrylic acid as a functional monomer. The surface energy and basic physical properties of synthesized PSA (pressure sensitive adhesives) were investigated as a function of contents of acrylic acid and crosslinking agent. The structures of adhesive were identified by FTIR. Viscosities and molecular weights of PSA were measured by a Brookfield viscometer and GPC, respectively. Consequently, molecular weight and viscosity increased as the contents of acrylic acid increased up to 6 wt% and then decreased at higher contents. Surface energy increased as the contents of acrylic acid increased owing to the increase of COOH groups, which yielded the enhancement of polarity of PSA. On the other hands, their peel strengths were inversely proportional to molecular weight and showed tendencies of decreasing as the contents of acrylic acid and crosslinking agent increased.

The foaming of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) using supercritical was studied. In order to improve the melt strength, PBS was modified using the reactive compounding technique. Rapid decompression of -saturated PBS at a temperature above the depressed yielded expanded microcellular foams. The resulting foam structure could be controlled by manipulating process conditions. Experiments varying the foaming temperature while holding other variables constant showed that higher temperatures produced larger cells and reduced cell densities. Higher saturated pressures led to higher nucleation densities and smaller cell sizes. Decreasing the rate of depressurization permitted a longer period of cell growth and therefore larger cells were obtained.

In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a hydrophilic polymer carrier to develop solid dispersion formulations for enhancing solubility and dissolution rate of pranlukast, one of poorly soluble drugs that has been broadly used for the treatment of asthma. PEG based solid dispersions with or without poloxamer were prepared by hot melting and solvent evaporation methods. The resultant solid dispersions were characterized by DSC and powder X-ray measurements, and their morphological properties were observed to be partially changed to amorphous state with reduced crystallinity. Dissolution and solubility tests showed that the solubility and dissolution rate of the solid dispersions were significantly enhanced. The solid dispersion formulation prepared by the hot melting method with a chemical composition of pranlukast:PEG:poloxamer = 1:5:1 demonstrated the most enhanced solubility and dissolution rate. The results suggest that the solid dispersions based on PEG and poloxamer are promising systems for the enhancement of solubility and bioavailability of pranlukast.

Abstract: In this study, PAN/ fiber mats were fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and titanium(IV) butoxide () by an electrospinning method with various solution concentrations, applied voltages and solution flow rates. The fiber mats were irradiated with an electron beam to induce structural crosslinking and enhance photocatalytic activity. As a result, uniform and bead-free fibers without pits or cracks on surface were obtained at 5 wt% of solution with 15 kV and 0.02 mL/min flow rate. The PAN/ fiber mats were irradiated with an electron beam of 1.14 MeV acceleration voltage, 4 mA of current and . Electron beam irradiation was enhanced the photocatalytic activity of PAN/ nano fiber mat. The photocatalytic activity of the PAN/ fiber mat was analyzed by degradation of methylene blue and volatile organic compounds.

The differences between single and mixed aluminium catalyst systems in the bulk polymerization of L-lactide were studied. , TMA, TOA and TIBA were employed for the mixed-catalyst systems, and TIBA was chosen as a reference catalyst. For the /TIBA catalyst system, the conversion of polymerization increased as the composition of in the mixed catalyst increased. The molecular weight of the resulting PLA reached to about 13000 g/mol, and the polydispersity index of the polymer from the /TIBA catalyst was slightly increased than that of single catalyst. The higher molecular weight tail or shoulder was revealed in the GPC curve. The conversion of the TOA/TIBA catalyst system decreased as the composition of TOA in the mixed catalyst increased. The molecular weight of PLA prepared with TOA/TIBA catalysts increased up to 14000 g/mol. The Al compounds-mixed catalysts could produce a higher molecular weight tail or shoulder in the GPC curve, which may result in enhancement of mechanical properties of PLA.

The impact strength of material is considered the most important design factor for small and light products. Impact strength is a unique material property, thus the impact strength should not depend upon the geometry of specimen. However it varies according to specimen thickness, notching method, and notch shape. In this study, the variations of impact strength have been investigated according to thickness, notch shape, and notching method of specimen. Engineering plastics such as PC, ABS and POM have been used in this study. Experimental results showed impact strength increased as thickness decreasesd. PC showed the highest increment of impact strength when the thickness was thin. Fractured section of PC showed brittle fracture behavior when the specimen was thick. However it showed ductile fracture behavior when it was thin. The impact strength of in-mold notched specimen showed higher than that of milling notched specimen. PC showed the highest notch sensitivity among the materials used in this experiment.

Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was used to introduce epoxy groups on the surface of polypropylene (PP) plate, used as a substrate, through plasma-induced graft copolymerization. Emulsion polymerization was applied for graft copolymerization of GMA and was compared with conventional solution polymerization to confirm its effect. Plasma treatment conditions under one atmospheric pressure were fixed as follows; the RF power of 200 W, the treatment time of 30 sec, the Ar gas flow rate of 6 LPM, and the exposure time of treated PP samples in air of 5 min. For graft-copolymerization, GMA concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time was optimized to maximize the grafting degree of GMA. The maximum grafting degree of GMA was obtained at the condition of 12%-GMA concentration, reaction temperature, and 5 hr-reaction time. Analysis results supported that the emulsion polymerization was more effective than the solution polymerization for grafting more GMAs on the surface of PP plate under the same reaction conditions.

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been prepared by using aqueous solution in the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels. PVA powders were dissolved in deionized water, and then irradiated by gamma-ray with a radiation dose of 50 kGy to make hydrogels. PVA hydrogels were dipped into 0.01 and 0.05 M solution for 1 h respectively. After that, the swollen hydrogels were irradiated by gamma-ray at various doses to form AgNPs. UV-vis analysis indicated that the concentration of Ag NPs was enhanced by increasing absorbed dose and the concentration of . FE-SEM measurements provided further evidence for the successful formation of Ag NPs in PVA hydrogels. Also, the antibacterial effect of PVA hydrogels stabilized AgNPs against Gram-negative bacteria (S.aureus and E.coli) in liquid as well as on solid growth media has been investigated. The AgNPs consolidated in PVA hydrogel networks have an excellent antibacterial effect.

Three kinds of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) derivatives, [6-{4-(4-cyanophenylazo)phenoxy}]hexyloxypropyl celluloses (CAHPCs) with degree of etherification (DET) ranging from 0.4 to 3, fully substituted acrylic acid esters of HPC (HPCA) and CAHPCs (CAHPCAs) were synthesized. The crosslinked HPCA (HPCAG) and CAHPCAs (CAHPCAGs) were also prepared by exposing thermotropic mesophases of HPCA and CAHPCAs to UV light. Both CAHPCs and CAHPCAs with DET 1.2, as well as HPC and HPCA, formed enantiotropic cholesteric phases whose optical pitches('s) increase with temperature, wheras both CAHPCs and CAHPCAs with DET 1.4 showed monotropic nematic phases. CAHPCAGs with DET 1.2, as well as CAHPCAs with DET 1.2, exhibited reflection colors in a wide temperature range. On the other hand, CAHPCAGs with DET 1.4, as well as CAHPCAs with DET 1.4, showed Schileren textures typical of nematic phase, indicating that the liquid crystalline structure is virtually locked upon photocrosslinking. The isotropization temperatures('s) of both CAHPCAs and CAHPCAGs decreased with increasing DET. The of CAHPCAG, however, was higher than that of CAHPCA at the same DET. Moreover, the temperature dependence of of CAHPCAGs was much weaker than that of CAHPCAs.

Long-term performance of polymer under constant sustained load has been the main research focus, which created a need for the accelerated test method providing proper lifetime assessment. Cycling fatigue loading is one of the accelerated test method and has been of great interest. Microstructure change of high density polyethylene under cyclic fatigue loading and creep was examined utilizing a tensile device specially designed for creep and fatigue test and also can be attachable to the X-ray diffractometer. In this way, the crystal morphology change of polyethylene under creep and cyclic fatigue load was successfully monitored and compared. Despite the marked differences in macroscopic deformation between the creep and cyclic fatigue tests, crystal morphology such as crystallinity, crystal size, and -spacing was as nearly identical between the two test cases. Specimens pre-deformed to different strains, i.e., before yield point (BYP), at yield point (YP) and after yield point (AYP), however, showed markedly different changes in crystal morphology, especially between AYP and the other two specimens.

Heat treatment effect of polyethylene (PE) separators was investigated after storage at 80, 100 and for 1 h. All the samples showed enhanced tensile strength and modulus after heat treatment, but thermal shrinkage up to 15% was observed in PE films having newly formed dimple structure on the surface of fiber after annealed at 100 and . Although there was 5% of thermal shrinkage after annealing at , no such serious changes in PE fiber was observed. Furthermore, the separator was found to have enhanced cell performance with 1.3 and 2.3 times higher tensile strength and modulus after heat treatment at for 1 h.

Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) (PPE) was synthesized using or CuCl catalyst with various amounts of ligand and base in several different solvent systems. CuCl/1-methylimidazole/ammonium hydroxide was found to be an effective catalyst system which showed the highest polymer yield and molecular weight. The effects of catalyst/monomer ratio, different amine ligands, and the content of mono-functional reagent 2,4,6-trimethylphenol (TMP) additive on the polymer yield and molecular weight were investigated. Among the co-solvent systems used in this polymerization, chloroform/methanol 9/1(v/v) gave the highest polymer yield and molecular weight ( 55 K, 92 K, PDI 1.7). The catalytic activity between CuCl and CuI was compared by oxygen-uptake experiments and the formation of sideproduct, 5,5'-tetramethyl-4,4'-diphenoquinone (DPQ), was analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy.

The dispersion of pigment particles is important because it is capable of increasing the color strength, contrast, and transmittance of color-LCD products. Pigment dispersion properties are very important factors for the quality of LCD color filters. The chemical structure of polymeric dispersants for pigment is important to improve dispersion stability and prevent aggregation or flocculation of pigment in organic or aqueous systems. Polymeric dispersants should contain both anchoring group that interacts with pigment surface and stabilizing group that provides steric stabilization. Moreover, the molecular weight and composition of block copolymer have the an effect on pigment dispersion. In this study, adequate dispersants, block copolymers containing (2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate as anchoring group and oligo(ethylene oxide)methyl ether methacrylate as a stabilizing group were designed and synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization in order to prepare well-defined structure, molecular weight and composition.

A functionalization of mesoporous materials with organosilane was carried out via a post-synthesis grafting method and /methylaluminoxane (MAO) as subsequently immobilized on the functionalized mesoporous materials for ethylene polymerization. Organosilanes having amine, cyano or imidazoline group such as -[(3-trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (2NS), 4-(triethoxysilyl)butyronitrile (1NCy), 1-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)-2-imidazoline (2NIm) were used for the surface functionalization of mesoporous materials. In the SBA-15/2NS/ catalyst preparation, the amount of MAO in feed increased with an decrease in the Zr content of the supported catalyst, and Al content in the supported catalyst increased. The ethylene homopolymerization activity of SBA-15/2NS/ dramatically increased as the amount of MAO in feed increased. Furthermore, when the immobilization time was 6 hrs, SBA-15/2NS/ showed the highest activity. The activities of supported 2NS-, 1NCy-, 2NIm-functionalized catalysts decreased in the following order, SBA-15/2NS/ > SBA-15/2NIm/ > SBA-15/1NCy/. 2NS and 2NIm which have two amine groups per silane molecule were shown to interact with strongly compared to 1NCy which has one amine group. Thus, the activities increased with an increase in the nitrogen and the Zr content of the supported catalysts.